Sovereign States Emergency Management Act

Key Points

• This bill would completely abolish FEMA two years after becoming law. All of the agency's functions, staff, property, and records would transfer to the President and the Executive Office of the President.
• In place of FEMA, the Treasury Department would create a block grant program giving money directly to states for disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. States would manage their own emergency operations instead of relying on a central federal agency.
• How much money each state gets would be based on a formula considering population size, how often and how badly disasters have hit over the past 20 years, geographic risk factors like flood plains and hurricane zones, and the state's economic need.
• States must submit annual emergency management plans by April 1 showing how they will use the funds and coordinate with local governments and tribal authorities. They must also report on outcomes like preparedness improvements and response times within 90 days after each fiscal year ends.
• The block grant program has a built-in expiration date, terminating four years after the Treasury Department issues its funding formula rule. This creates a gap: FEMA would be gone permanently, but the replacement program would sunset, leaving no guaranteed federal disaster funding structure.
• Twenty percent of total program funding is reserved for federal administration (10%) and auditing (10%), and states can use up to 5% of their allocation for their own administrative costs, meaning a significant share of disaster funds goes to overhead rather than direct relief.